


Oasis

by MzRogueRaz (EggplantRed)



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Destroy Ending, Earthborn (Mass Effect), F/M, Fluff, Injury Recovery, Post-Mass Effect 3, Rebuilding, Renegade Commander Shepard, Renegon (Mass Effect), Sole Survivor (Mass Effect), Two Shepards, Two Shepards AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-04-24 17:03:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4927864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EggplantRed/pseuds/MzRogueRaz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>With the state of the galaxy as it was, it was a miracle that they could think of anything but restoration endeavors.<br/>Ryal was determined to find a space where they could escape all of that, even if only for a little while.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Oasis

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to TheFlamingNymph for some help through a little writer's block.  
> Set in an AU where there are two Commander Shepards and Thane Krios lives and is cured of Keprals.  
>   
>  _From a '100 ways to say I Love You' Tumblr prompt_
> 
> UPDATED (01/09/16): minor wording and grammatical changes

"You don't have to leave."

She maneuvered herself into an upright position and made space for him to join. Her day had been full of rebuilding efforts. Buildings still needed to be cleared for refugee housing, debris and rubble were still covering many of the roads. She organized sweeps of abandoned buildings for any refugees and criminals. Her days of living on the streets, finding whatever hole she could fall into for a little shelter were long over. She remembered how many other children were in her situation and tears brimmed her lids. Those memories from the past fueled her. She pushed herself to the brink of overexertion each day; she had to make sure she found as many as she could and helped them get into shelter.

He stood at the doorway, torn between wanting to take her into his arms and never let her go and letting her get the rest she probably needed. "I can come back later. You should rest."

“It’s okay. I couldn’t sleep anyway.”

Garrus flashed a brief smile and walked over to claim the space beside her. It had been four weeks since the Normandy had returned to Earth and a few days since he’d seen her. Rebuilding the galaxy kept everyone busy from sunrise to sunset.

The bed creaked as he nestled himself beside her. Her arm settled across him as she laid her head on his chest. Her shoulder throbbed, her knees ached, her back was stiff, every movement was almost like being in the rubble again. She was exhausted and her body rebelled against her attempts to ignore it. Ryal motioned to him for the bottle on the table. The medicine wouldn’t make the pain disappear completely but at least the numbness it provided would allow her some time with him. She swallowed as many as would let her stay awake with him.

“Should I find something else?” She reached out to stop him, “Just...stay.”

“Shepard, are you su…” Ryal was caressing his mandible before he could finish the question. He hummed his approval and tightened his hold on her as much as she could handle. Laying there together, they fell into something that mirrored life before it all went to hell and she asked about his day.

“We’ve finally reestablished some decent comm with Palaven.” His voice hung on the word, hit with the realization that his world would never be what it once was. He understood what she must be feeling seeing Earth in ruins like it is. The thought of Palaven now threatened to plague him. He cleared his mind and his throat and continued. “What’s left of Palaven. It’s grim but there are survivors. The refugees that were evacuated are doing okay. Circumstances considered.”

“Your father? Sister?”

Garrus kissed the top of her head. She didn’t always get along with his father but she still cared enough to inquire about his wellbeing.

“They are okay and in good hands with the flotilla. Hopefully, we'll be able to reunite soon. Meanwhile, I’ll do what I can for them from Earth until the mass relays are up again.” He shifted himself to get more comfortable. “What about you? You’ve been leaving before I wake up and coming back after I’m asleep these past few days.”

“Efforts are progressing. We should be ready to head towards the coastal areas as soon as we can get the biggest rubble cleared. For now, we’ve created shelter for a lot of the displaced.”

This felt like a return to normal, or what used to be normal for them. Their usual routine, discuss the end of the day, go over the mission highlights, review what went wrong, figure out what to correct. And yet she couldn’t do it. Wouldn’t do it. She didn’t want to think about the disaster that lay outside the walls. Outside the door every time she walked out. This room was to be their oasis, their getaway from it all.

“Wait.” He looked at her, bewildered but waited for her to continue.

“That threshold is now a hard limit. We enter a new galaxy when we cross it.”

Ryal nudged up towards his lips and stopped, the distance between them teased an upcoming kiss. “Whatever happens outside that door, remains outside that door. No destruction, no disaster, no rebuilding. It all goes away once we come in here.”

“You mean the galaxy really wasn’t destroyed and all this shit was just a dream? Well I’ll be.” They both laughed as Garrus leaned his forehead against hers. Eyes closed, they held on to each other.

“I don’t want to think about everything that’s gone wrong outside these walls when I come in here, Garrus. I only want to focus on what’s still going right.”

He trailed small kisses down the curve of her neck and along her collarbone. “Alright, I can do that. I’m sure we’ll pass the time somehow without any talk of putting the galaxy back together.” Garrus punctuated his remark with a kiss to her shoulder.

“Just think there was a time we would have been subjected to cheap wine on a vigilante’s salary and you were worried about everything that could go wrong.” Ryal laughed softly as her hand traveled along the length of his fringe and rested at the back of his head.

“Look at us now, Vakarian. Just about the only thing still going right in our world.”

“Shepard, I’ll agree to that. Plus the booze has definitely improved.”


End file.
